SHOCK VIDEO: ‘Don’t go in the water,’ Derbyshire residents warned

Michael Broomhead

Fire chiefs urge people to stay out of reservoirs, quarries and rivers as part of Drowning Prevention Week

Warning comes nearly six years after Derbyshire teenager Ryan Walker died swimming in a quarry

Nationally, 669 people died in water in the UK during 2013

Fire chiefs have sounded an alert about the deadly consequences of swimming in open water.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service is urging people to stay out of reservoirs, quarries and rivers as part of Drowning Prevention Week.

The warning comes almost six years after 15-year-old Ryan Walker, of Clay Cross, died while swimming at Far Hill Quarry in Ashover.

Dean Gazzard, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service group manager, said: “It’s so easy to be tempted by the lure of water, especially during the warmer weather, or when being egged on by friends, but I cannot stress enough the dangers of open water – it should never be the place to cool down or play in.

“Your body will experience cold water shock, making it impossible to swim, and you can become trapped in the items lurking beneath the surface.

“Strong currents can soon carry you away, pulling you under the water to drown.

I cannot stress enough the dangers of open water

Dean Gazzard, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service group manager

“We hope that by getting this important message out into the community, everyone will stay safe and stay out of unknown water.”

The fire service is urging people to swim in swimming pools or beaches where a lifeguard is present.

In 2013, there were 669 water-related deaths in the UK – two-and-a-half times the number of people who lost their lives in house fires during 2012/13.